My father was never formally diagnosed with PSP, I understand that diagnosis is virtually impossible as so
many symptoms are similar to Parkinson’s, and in my father’s case until the
last year we thought he had some form of dementia. When all the main types of
dementia had been ruled out we started running out of ideas, Parkinson seemed
possible but didn’t explain the mental fog that clouded his brain. PSP was
first introduced as a possibility only 11 months before his death when an old
friend mentioned that her father-in-law was displaying similar symptoms and was
believed to have PSP. Even when as a family we looked into it further PSP never
seemed conclusive as the physical manifestations are often the main focus of
PSP literature, not so much the dementia-like symptoms. For my father the
deterioration of his brain went hand in hand with the deterioration of his
body.
From the time he first started displaying PSP symptoms to his death from
aspiration pneumonia four and a half years later PSP began, slowly at first,
rapidly towards the end, to consume every part of his being until he was
wheelchair bound, unable to communicate and virtually no part of the person I
knew remained.
